Container for storing liquefied gases at very low temperatures

ABSTRACT

897,049. Laminates. CONCH INTERNATIONAL METHANE Ltd. Feb. 7, 1961, No. 4512/61. Class 140. [Also in Groups XXVIII and XXIX] Each of a plurality of heat insulating panels forming a lining for a rigid shell 1 of a liquefied gas container has a back layer 5 of plywood or metal secured to the inner surface of the shell and extending beyond the periphery of the panel core 6 and side panels 8 bonded thereto, and the joint between abutting back layers 5 of adjacent panels is sealed by a strip 9 of plywood, metal or plastic material bonded thereto, and the remaining space between the panels is filled with polyvinyl chloride overlaid by a sealing strip 11 of plywood bonded to front layers 7 of each panel which are also of plywood. The panel core 6 is of balsa wood, quippo or honeycombed material.

July 30, 1963 E. M. SCHLUMBERGER 3,099,362

CONTAINER FOR STORING LIQUEFIED GASES AT VERY LOW TEMPERATURES Filed Nov. 24, 1961 I n ven to r 5196/7776 Mar/M fa/amer er y OW/ Attorney United States Patent ()1 3,t99,362 CONTAINER FUR STORING LEQUEFlED GASES AT VERY LOW TEMPERATURES Etienne M. Schlumberger, London, England, assignor to Conch International Methane Limited, Nassau, Bahamas, a company of the Bahamas Filed Nov. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 154,521 Claims priority, application Great Britain Feb. 7, 1961 11 Claims. (Cl. 22tl9) This invention relates to a container for storing liquefied gases at very low temperatures comprising a rigid shell internally lined with heat insulating panels, the joints between adjacent panels being provided with gas and liquid impervious resilient sealing means.

Containers of this type are known.

It is an object of the invention to provide a container of the above type which is provided with heat insulating panels and sealing means between adjacent panels which are so designed that the panels and the sealing means can quickly, economically and inexpensively be installed in the containers. In this connection attention is drawn to the fact that liquefied natural gas or liquefied methane at about atmospheric pressure has a temperature as low as minus 160 degrees centigrade. In the case of liquefied nitrogen or other liquefied gases the temperatures are even lower at atmospheric pressure. This means that the temperature of the container will vary during use between ambient temperature and minus 160 degrees centigrade or an even lower temperature. The result of these temperature variations is that the surfaces of the heat insulating panels of the container will expand and contract substantially. As furthermore the temperatures of the liquefied gases -.to be stored in the container are so low that steel and most other metals would lose their strength and would embrittle when cooled down to the temperature of the liquefied gas it is essential to prevent that the cold liquid or cold vapors will ever reach the metal of the shell. This can be done by sealing the joints between adjacent panels in such a way that no vapor or liquid can freely pass the joints. However as the panels contract and expand substantially it is also necessary to design the seal of the joints between adjacent panels so that the stresses will remain within acceptable limits.

Constructions of this type have been proposed but the known constructions are rather complicated and ditlicult to install. Furthermore the known constructions are rather expensive.

The container according to the invention is characterized in that each panel is provided with a backlayer extending outside the circumference of the panel, each panel being secured with its backlay-er adjacent to the inner surface of the shell in such a way that adjacent backlayers contact or almost contact each other at their ends, the joint between adjacent backlayers being provided with a sealing strip, the remaining space between each pair of adjacent panels being provided with a resilient filling piece, and said space being sealed by a strip of resilient material secured to the inner surfaces of adjacent panels.

The invention will now be further explained with reference to the drawings.

FIGURE 1 shows schematically a cross-section of a part of a container in which the construction according to the invention can be applied.

FIGURE 2 shows schematically a cross-section of a part of another embodiment of a similar container.

FIGURE 3 shows details of the construction according to the invention in cross-section.

The containers as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 comprise a metal shell 1, the inner surface of which is provided with heat insulating panels 4. The shell 1 and the panels 4 enclose a space 3 destined for storing the liquefied gas. Prettera'bly the shell 1 is surrounded by a second shell 2 located a short distance rfrom and parallel to the shell 1.

The liquefied .gas can be stored directly in the space 3 so that the liquid contacts the inner surface of the panels 4. Preferably the liquid is however stored in a metal tank 13 located in the space 3 or in a membrane enclosing the liquid and attached to and supported by the panels. The tank 1.3 is supported by the bottom panels 4 and is fixed by means of keys 15 and keyways 14. The tank 13 is made of a metal which does not lose its strength and ductility at the very low temperatures of the liquid 61g. aluminium or stainless steel.

The special construction of the panels and of the sealing means will now be described with reference to FIG- URE 3.

The shell 1 (which is also shown in FIGURES 1 and 2) is provided with the panels 4. The panels consist of a core 6 consisting of balsawood, quippo, honeycomb material or any other suitable heat insulating material. The core 6 is preferably provided with a front layer 7 for instance made of plywood. Furthermore side layers 8 may also be present. The layers 7 and 8 are bonded to the core 6 by :glueing. An essential pant of the invention is the backlayer 5 which extends outside the circumference of the panel 4. This backlayer 5 should be made of a relatively thin sheet of a strong material such as plywood, plastic or even metal. The backlayer 5 is bonded to the core 6, preferably by glueing.

The backface of the backlayer 5 is secured adjacent to the inner surface of the shell 1 by any suitable securing means. All panels 4 are secured to the inner surface of the shell 1 in such a way that the backlayers 5 of adjacent panels contact or almost contact each other at their ends. The joint between adjacent backlayers 5 is sealed by means of a sealing strip 9. This sealing strip can be made of plastic sheet material, plywood, thin sheet metal or another suitable material. The sealing strip 9 is bonded to the inner surfaces of adjacent extending backlayers 5. The space remaining between adjacent panels 4 is filled by means of filling piece 10 made of a resilient impervious material. This filling piece It is preferably made of a foamed plastic e.g. foamed polyviuylchloride. The sides of the filling piece 10 are bonded to the sides of the panels 4 for instance by glueing. A resilient sealing strip 11 is secured to the inner surfaces of adjacent panels. This strip 11 is preferably made of plywood or of another suitable material which does not lose its strength and ductility at the very low temperatures of the liquid. The strip 11 is preferably glued to the inner surfaces of the heat insulating panels 4.

The panels 4 can be installed simply. The prefabricated panels 4 are fixed to the inner surfaces of the shell 1 by any suitable means. Then the sealing strip 9 is secured in its place, then the filling piece 10 and the sealing strip 11.

It will be clear from the above that the construction according to the invention can be assembled easily in quick and inexpensive way, which is the main object of the invention.

The container according to the invention can be used both for storing and transporting liquefied gases such as liquefied natural gas, liquefied methane, liquefied nitrogen, liquefied air etc.

1 claim:

1. A container for storing liquefied gases at very low temperatures comprising a rigid shell, internally lined with heat insulating panels, the joints between adjacent panels being provided with gas and liquid impervious resilient sealing means, characterized by the improvement that each panel is provided with a backlayer extending outside the circumference of the panel, each panel being secured with its back-layer adjacent to the inner surface of the shell in such a way that adjacent backlayers contact or almost contact each other at their ends, the joint between adjacent backlayers being provided with a sealing strip, the remaining space between each pair of adjacent panels being provided with a resilient filling piece, sealing the sides of the panels, said space being sealed by a strip of resilient material secured to the inner surfaces of adjacent panels.

2. The container as claimed in claim 1, in which the filling piece is a resilient gas and liquid impervious material.

3. The container as claimed in claim 2 in which the filling piece is foamed plastic.

4. The container as claimed in claim 3 in which the filling piece is foamed polyvinylchloride.

5. A container tfor storing liquefied gases at very low temperatures comprising a rigid shell, internally lined with heat insulating panels, the joints between adjacent panels being provided with gas and liquid imprevious resilient sealing means, characterized by the improvement that each panel is provided with a backlayer extending outside the circumference of the panel, each panel being secured with its backlayer adjacent to the inner surface :of the shell in such a way that adjacent backlayers contact or almost contact each other at their ends, the joint between adjacent backlayers being provided with a sealing strip, the remaining space between each pair of adjacent panels being provided with a resilient filling piece, sealing the sides of the panels, said space being sealed by a strip of resilient material secured to the inner surfaces of adjacent panels, the sealing strip of the adjacent backlayers being a plastic sheet bonded to the inner surfaces of adjacent extending backlayers.

6. A container for storing liquefied gases at very low temperatures comprising a rigid shell, internally lined with heat insulating panels, the joints between adjacent panels being provided with gas and liquid impervious resilient sealing means, characterized by the improvement that each panel is provided with a backlayer extending outside the circumference of the panel, each panel being secured with its back-layer adjacent to the inner surface of the shell in such a way that adjacent backlayers contact or almost contact each other at their ends, the joint between adjacent backlayers being provided with a seali ing strip, the remaining space between each pair of adjacent panels being provided with a resilient filling piece, sealing the sides of the panels, said space being sealed by a strip of resilient material secured to the inner surfaces of adjacent panels, the sealing strip of the adjacent backlayers being a plywood strip bonded to the inner surfaces of adjacent extending backlayers.

7. A container for storing liquefied gases at very low temperatures comprising a rigid shell, internally lined with heat insulating panels, the joints between adjacent panels being provided with gas and liquid impervious resilient sealing means, characterized by the improvement that each panel is provided with a backlayer extending outside the circumference of the panel, each panel being secured with its backlayer adjacent to the inner surface of the shell in such a way that adjacent backlayers contact or almost contact each other at their ends, the joint between adjacent backlayers being provided with a sealing strip, the remaining space between each pair of adjacent panels being provided with a resilient filling piece, sealing the sides of the panels, said space being sealed by a strip of resilient material secured to the inner surfaces of adjacent panels, the strip of resilient material secured to the inner surfaces of adjacent panels being made of plywood.

8. The container as claimed in claim 1 in which the extending backlayer of each panel is made of plywood.

9. The container as claimed in claim 1 in which each panel is provided with a core of balsawood.

10. The container as claimed in claim 1 in which each panel is provided with a core of honeycomb material.

11. The container as claimed in claim 1 in which the liquefied gas is stored in a metal tank located in the insulated space of the container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,694,947 Lindsay Dec. 11, 1928 2,170,637 Hatch et a1 Aug. 22, 1939 2,238,022 Johnson Apr. 8, 1941 2,951,608 Morrison Sept. 6, 1960 2,969,164 Morrison Jan. 24, 1961 2,983,401 Murphy May 9, 1961 3,030,669 Doske-r Apr. 24, 1962 

1. A CONTAINER FOR STORING LIQUEFIED GASES AT VERY LOW TEMPERATURES COMPRISING A RIGID SHELL, INTERNALLY LINED WITH HEAT INSULATING PANELS, THE JOINTS BETWEEN ADJACENT PANELS BEING PROVIDED WITH GAS AND LIQUID IMPERVIOUS RESILIENT SEALING MEANS, CHARACTERIZED BY THE IMPROVEMENT THAT EACH PANEL IS PROVIDED WITH A BACKLAYER EXTENDING OUTSIDE THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE PANEL, EACH PANEL BEING SECURED WITH ITS BACK-LAYER ADJACENT TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE SHELL IN SUCH A WAY THAT ADJACENT BACKLAYERS CONTACT OR ALMOST CONTACT EACH OTHER AT THEIR ENDS, THE JOINT BETWEEN ADJACENT BACKLAYERS BEING PROVIDED WITH A SEALING STRIP, THE REMAINING SPACE BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF ADJACENT PANELS BEING PROVIDED WHIT A RESILIENT FILLING PIECE, SEALING THE SIDES OF THE PANELS, SAID SPACE BEING SEALED BY A STRIP OF RESILIENT MATERIAL SECURED TO THE INNER SURFACES OF ADJACENT PANELS. 